All eyes will be on the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide football team as they host the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the biggest college football game of the season.
The University of Alabama will also have in attendance the former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer addressed the added distractions surrounding the game during his Monday press conference.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of celebrity-type people here that want come be part of what's happening on game day," DeBoer said. "Everyone's watching. So it will be great to have everyone who wants to watch come be here."
Last week, the university became aware that the 45th President of the United States was planning on attending the game.
"We have been notified that the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, plans to attend the Alabama-Georgia football game on Sept. 28 after receiving an invitation from a private citizen," the statement read. "The safety of our campus is and will remain our top priority, and UAPD will work closely with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement partners to coordinate security."
This will be the third Alabama game that Trump has attended. Trump was in attendance at Bryant-Denny in 2019 when Joe Burrow and LSU beat the Crimson Tide 46-41.
He was also in attendance in 2018 to witness Tua Tagovailoa’s overtime toss to DeVonta Smith in the National Championship game against Georgia.
In addition to the distractions of the former president attending, ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in Tuscaloosa to do their weekly Saturday morning show. DeBoer talked about what he told his players to help block out the outside disruptions.
“I told the guys this, with ‘(College) GameDay’ and everything coming here as well, for the guys to try to take as much off their plate, other than maybe a few extra interviews towards the end of the week. The main thing is they get prepared to play the best football game that they’ve played this year. I always challenge them to play the best football game they’ve ever played in their career. That’s what matters when it comes down to what we can control. But yeah, it is kind of cool to have a lot of people who want to come be part of the atmosphere and add to the excitement and energy that the game will bring.”
Alabama and Georgia will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The game will be televised by ABC.
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